cyprus internet usage 2017

We believe that every business owner should know the numbers of internet usage and how Cypriots behave online. With the following presentation we analyse the important figures from internet usage in Cyprus from a business perspective and what these numbers mean.

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Internet

Access

in households

Internet access in households in Cyprus continues to increase. During 2017 first quarter, 75.9% of the households in Cyprus had access to a computer, either desktop, mobile or tablet. A computer is found in 94.9% of households with dependent children, whereas in households where there are no dependent children the percentage increased to 68.5%, in comparison to 63.2% in 2016. This high rate of internet access in Cypriot households offers businesses the opportunity to get high promotional coverage when promoting products and services online.

Devices

Usage

in households

Household Internet users accessing the Internet with portable devices; their mobile or smart phone at home, rose to 84.6%, whereas 21.2% accessed the Internet on their laptop and tablet. Given the high rate of accessing the Internet via smartphones, websites need to be versatile and reponsive to the screen sizes of mobile and portable devices.

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Mobile friendly websites do rank better on searches made on Google with mobile phones. If your website is not responsive to such devices, now is the time to go mobile!

Use of the Internet

in households

Internet access by households is on the rise with 8 out 10 households having access to the internet.During the first quarter of 2017 the highest rate of Internet users appears in two age groups.

The first: 16 - 24 years (80.7%), and gradually drops to 33.9% for the 65 - 74 age group. The use of the Internet is almost the same for men and women 16 - 24 and 25 - 54 years old. However, for the ages 55 - 74 men use the Internet more frequently than women.

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Digital marketing tools offer the ability to target your audience according to specif demographics such as gender, age, education level and interests.

source: Socialway

Use of eCommerce

in households

In Cyprus, the percentage of individuals ordering online increased to 24.4% in 2017 from 22.1% in 2016, 30.3% of the aged 16 - 74, who used the Internet in the first quarter of the year, bought or ordered goods or services for private use over the Internet. Purchasing online is very popular, and large amounts are spent on buying over the Internet by Cypriots. On the contrary, in Cyprus the percentage of businesses that have an e-shop is very low (6.3%).

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Through an e-shop, by applying the correct marketing strategy, a business can increase its sales and profits drastically. With only the 6.3% of Cypriot businesses owning an e-shop there is room to enter the online market with very low competition and therefore lower risk.

source: Socialway

The main issue experienced from online buyers was the speed of delivery. 10.7% claim that the speed of delivery was slower than indicated. Shipping from Cyprus, a local business can have a competitive edge over foreign companies. It is worth mentioning that 79.3% of persons buying over the internet did not encounter any problems.

source: Socialway

The main reason for not buying or ordering any goods or services via internet, is the preference to shop in person along with the force of habit for those who are able to do so (78.9%). Rest of the people (41.3%) stated that they do not have a payment card allowing them to pay over the Internet and three out of ten persons (30.1%) did not make online purchases because they do not have the skills or knowledge.

source: Socialway

Internet Activities

in households

Knowing your customer activities and habits allow us, as digital marketers, to serve the right content to the right people, exactly the right moment!

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79.9% Reading online new, newspapers, magazines

78.1% Participating in social networks

76.1% Finding information about goods or services

71.8% Seeking health related information

70.0% Telephoning over the Internet, video calls

68.9% Sending, receiving e-mails

67.0% Uploading self-created content to any website

50.1% Using services related to travel

34.2% Internet Banking

16.7% Looking for a job or sending a job application

10.8% Participating in professional networks

10.3% Posting opinions on civic or political issues

4.5% Selling of goods or services

2.5% Taking part in online consulting or voting

METHODOLOGY

This guide presents the results of the survey ICT Usage in Households and by Individuals for the first quarter of 2017. The data was collected from the survey that covers households in Cyprus with Internet access with at least one member aged 16 - 74 and individuals aged 16 -74. All individuals, aged 16 - 74, within each sampled household were selected. The sampling frame was stratified into urban and rural strata by district. The selection in the urban areas was done by using simple systematic random sampling. The sample of the villages was drawn with probability proportional to size (p.p.s.). Then in each selected village, 25 households were selected. All the data was collected by the official authority of Cyprus' Statistical Service (www.mof.gov.cy).